Catching up with former Avs: Ryan O’Byrne

The thing I’ll always take away from doing this job, way more than any salary or smug humblebrag, is that I got to meet a lot of interesting people. The stories from those meetings, the actual interactions with people from the sport/business/history, is what I’ll most cherish. (I’m a bit sentimental for some reason tonight, I admit).

The fact that I got to interact for a few years with a guy like Ryan O’Byrne, then get to catch up with him years later and share some common memories, is great to be able to say.

Ryan O’Byrne played for the Avalanche from 2010-13, the middle of a three-team NHL career that also included the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a big, hard-hitting defenseman who didn’t score much (five goals in 308 career games) and who could also fight. 

After his NHL career ended in 2013 with Toronto, O’Byrne played three more years professionally in Europe. 

O’Byrne went to Cornell, and became one of the few pro athletes to actually go back and get his degree, then an MBA. That’s where we picked up our conversation the other day.